Iran’s Plots to Kill Americans Have Reached ‘Advanced Stages,’ Spy Chief Warns
A warning to Rubio emerges as Washington cuts embassy staffing across the Middle East.
Iranian plots to kill Americans have reached advanced stages, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an October 23 memo reviewed by Reuters. The warning covers the Middle East and other countries. CIA Director John Ratcliffe received a copy.
Washington is reducing staffing at embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the Associated Press reported after obtaining the memo and speaking to three U.S. officials. Those missions remain open. Departures there are voluntary; nonessential personnel and families in Saudi Arabia were ordered to leave Wednesday.
U.S. officials linked the changes to Iranian plots and Houthi threats. They denied that the drawdowns were tied to potential new American-Israeli strikes. The public warning offers no basis for readers to independently assess the underlying intelligence.
The threat assessment is attributed to the DNI. Underlying classified intelligence is unavailable for independent review.
Corrections & updates
24 Oct 2026 Visual update: replaced the earlier official portrait with a commissioned, clearly labelled editorial illustration of the story’s central subject.
24 Oct 2026 Illustration updated to a realistic pencil-and-ink treatment with restrained color washes. Reporting, original publication date and canonical URL are preserved.
24 Oct 2026 Illustration corrected: the U.S. diplomatic passport cover is black. The reporting is unchanged.
Sources & further reading
- Reuters reviews Iran threat memoReuters
- AP independently obtains memo and interviews three officialsAssociated Press
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